NEW YORK, (The Southern African Times) – New York City and its surrounding areas were hit by heavy thunderstorms and flooding on Wednesday night as Hurricane Ida was sweeping the northeast part of the United States.
Multiple buildings and subway stations were flooded as New York City reported more than three inches (76.2 mm) of rain within one hour.
Declaring a state of emergency in the city on Wednesday night, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record-breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads.”
“Due to a flooding condition, all southbound lanes of the Harlem River Drive are closed at West 166th Street in Manhattan,” tweeted New York City Emergency Management.
The National Weather Service issued its first-ever flash flood emergency alert for New York City, warning more than 9 million residents of imminent danger. The rain is still going on and is expected to continue until early Thursday morning in New York City.
Earlier, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul urged people to prepare for flooding conditions and practice caution in travel while directing various departments to get prepared.
By now, the local government has not released data on damage or casualties from the heavy rain in the city.
The National Weather Service on Wednesday also issued a tornado warning for west central Suffolk County on Long Island and over 10 flash warnings covering Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and other states.
A tornado was also reported in New Jersey with houses leveled, and the state announced a state of emergency Wednesday night.
Ida landed in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane on Sunday and has weakened to a tropical storm.
